Centrifugal separator and wringer



May 23, 1939.

C. C. SEARLE CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR AND WRINGER Filed March 23, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l 57 59. g as 68 f 3 Z 6/ CLAREN INVENTOR. c: C. SEA RLE Y B 7% I Mm r ATTORNEY.

May 23, 1939.

C. C. SEARLE CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR AND WRINGER Filed larch 23, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. CLA RENCE C. SEARL E ATTORNEY.

May 23, 1939. c. c. SEARLE CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR AND WRINGER Filed March 25, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. CLARENCE C. Same/.5 BY 21 I w% A ORNEY.

Patented May 23, 1939 OENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR AND WRINGEB Clarence O. Searle, Maricopa, Calif.

1937, Serial No. 132,511

Applicatio; March 23,

' 11 Claims. My invention relates to improvements in 'a centrifugal separator and wringer, and it consists of the combinations, constructions and arrange ments hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a centrifugal separator and'wringer, in which centrifu gal means is used for the removal of sand and .cuttings from rotary drilling mud and in which wringers are also useql for separating foreign particies from the mud with the loss of comparatively no fluid. In this way the mud is reconditioned without loss and maybe used again.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the type described in which the mud after being freed from sand and cuttings is segregated according to the desired specific gravity.

The device is also provided with means from which samples-of the gas liberated by the mud may be taken. By analyzing these samples, valuable information may be derived pertaining to the formation of the strata from which the gas was liberated.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a device of thetype described which is self-contained and which may be mounted upon a single base. The device may be driven by any type of power means such as an electric motor. The device is so designed that it may be operated continuously and the parts will function for a long period of time without the need of. repairs.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is'illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application,

in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device with portions broken away to show the working parts;

Figure2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the, device, portions being broken away;

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the wringer assembly and associated parts; and

Figure 7 illustrates a portion of the .device associated with a gas sample container. In carrying out my invention I provide a supporting frame comprising a base i that is constructed of I-beams, a side 2, and a top 3 also constructed of I-beams (see Figure 2). It is obvious that the frame may be formed from other structural members if desired. At the bottom of the frame I dispose a recovery tank indicated generally at 4 and this tank is divided into a number of circular compartments, of the shape shown 5 in'Figures 2 and 3. The outermost compartment 5 in the recovery tank 4 is designed to receive sand and cuttings. The next compartment 6 is designedto receive a heavy mud, while the compartment 1, adjacent to this receives medium mud. The innermost cbmpartment 8 is designed to receive light mud. The means for depositing the mud of the various specific gravities in the compartmentsjust mentioned, will be hereinafter described.

The base I rotatably carries a separator bowl and the means for supporting this will now be described. A thrust bearing housing 9 is sup ported by the base I and this housing is centrally disposed in the base and is internally threaded at M for receiving a,mud conveying pipe (not shown) that conveys the rotary drilling mud from the well to the device. (see Figure 2). A hollow pipe II has its lower end mounted in a thrust flange l2 and this flange in turn is rotatably mounted in the housing 9. A thrust bearing I3 is disposed between the flange I2 and the housing 9 and a packing I4 is placed between the pipe II and the housing 9. It will be seen from this construction that the pipe II is free to rotate and will convey the rotary drilling mud into the device.

The pipe II is connected to a hollow vertical shaft i5-and is rotated by this shaft. The shaft l5 supports the separator bowl. Apulley i6 is connected to the shaft and this pulley is rotated by an electric motorll, the electric motor being connected to the pulley l6 by belts i8,

The separator bowl has a conical-shaped screen 20 that surrounds the top of the pipe II. The pipe H is provided with slots i9 and the mud flows through the slots and into the screen. The

- screen is supported by upwardly inclined and radially-extending members -2l, and the lower ends of the members are secured to a base flange 22 of the separator bowl. The opposite ends of the members 2| are connected to radially-extending members 23 that are disposed at the top of the bowland are connected to a hub 24. This hub is rigidly connected to the hollow shaft I! and is rotated thereby.

Above the top of the conical screen I dispose a band 25. The upper edge of this band terminates just below the membersfl. A gas retaining lid 26 is carried by the hub 24 and 1' liberated from the mud while in the screen into radially-extending openings 23 formed in the shaft |5. The openings 28 communicate with the interior of the hollow shaft l5. A gas sample retainer l5 may be screwed upon a valve 23 and the valve in turn is secured to the upper e d of o the shaft |5 for receiving any gas liberated from the mud. The gas retainer l5 may be removed from time to time for checking the sample of as, The gas when analyzed will give valuable information as to the formation of the strata through 15 which the well is being drilled.

The conical screen 2| will be rotated with the shaft l5 and the separatorbowl, and the centrifugaL force thus generated will cause the mud to pass'through the screen and into-the bowl proper.

the shank 58 in the bore.

5| is also placed between each coupling member and the lower housing 41. I I

Between the upper andlower housings 45 and 41 I mount a pair of wringer rollers 52 and each .is preferably covered with a layer of rubber 53. 5 V

Figure 4 snows a section through one of the rollers. Each roller 52 has recessed ends 54 and 55 with a cylindrical bore 55 connecting the re- I cesses. A coupling member 51 is mounted in the recess 54 and carries a shank 58 that is slidable in the bore 55 and the shank is keyed to the wall of the bore at 59. This prevents a rotation of In like manner, a coupling member 55 is mounted in the recess 55 and carries a shank 5| that is slidable in the bore 55 and is held against rotation in the bore by a key 52. Thecoupling member 51 has a convex end 53 designed to enter a recess 54 in the complimental' coupling. member 45. The coupling a recess 55 in the complimental coupling member and a top wall or mud retaining plate 32. The I 43 plate 32 is secured to the underside of the members 23 and extends from the rim of the band 25 25 to the upper edges of the side walls 3|. The bottom wall-35 rests on the tops of radially extend ing members 35 that are secured to the base flange 22. The side walls have their ends separated from each other by wringer assemblies hereinafter described.

Within the housing or bowl thus formed, I dis- Dose a-conical-shaped partition 33 and this partition extends from the top of the' screen 25 tothe bottom plate 35. The lower edge of the partition is disposed adJacent to the bottom plate 35 and is formed with a plurality of recesses 34 (see Figure 3), through which the mud may pass. The partition 33 is supported bymembers 35 that in turn are connected to the members 2| and to the radially-extending members 35.

It' should be noted that the mud will pass through the screen 25 and into the separator housing andalso particles of foreign matter small enough to pass through the screen will gain access 5 to the interior of the separator housing or bowl. 1 I provide novel means for removing these small particles, such as sand and metallic partsfrom lthe mud without removing any of the mud during the process. This means comprises a number of sets ofwringer'rollersindicated'generally at 31,

each set being disposed between the adjacent ends of the side plates 3| '(seeFigure 3). Since each pair of-rollers is of. identical; construction, a description of one setwillsuijflce; v

In Figures 5 ;and- 6 I show, ahousing 45 carried y ne of the members 23. #Within the'housing I rotatably dispose a pair of shafts 4| and these shafts each carry a worm gear-42 atits upperv end.

Each shaft 4| is .operatively connected to a wringer roller by a similar mechanism and therefore a description of one such mechanism will sufflce.

A hearing 43 is carried by the housing 45 (see i ure 4), and in turn supports the shaft. The

, bearing 43 has a flanged top 44 'upon which the 5 worm gear 42 rides. The lower end of the shaft 4| carries a coupling member 45. A thrust bearihg 45 is placed'between the coupling member 45 and the housing 45.

A lower housing 41 (see Figure 6) is carried by one of the bottom members 35 and is connected to w the upper housing 45' by a spacing bolt 45. The" lower housing 41 carries a pair of coupling members '45 and each coupling member is rotatably supported by a thrust bearing 55. Only one cou- The coupling member 45 is provided with a bore 51 communicating with the recess 55 in order to give access to the lower end of a screw 55. One 25 end of the screw is provided with a left-hand thread while, the other end is provided with a right-hand thread and the threaded portions are received in threaded bores in the shanks 58 and 5|. The lower end '01 the screw has a non-cir- 30 -cu1ar portion 15 and a wrench may-be inserted through the opening 51' to engage with this portion for-rotating the screw and for causing the coupling members 51 and 55 to move away from each other and to frictionally engage with their 5 corresponding coupling members 45 and 49. .It

will be seen from this construction that a rotation of the worm gear 42 will rotatethe shaft 4| and'through the couplings will rotate the wringer roller 52. I 0

As ameans'of preventing slipping betweenthe coupling members, I provide a spring pressed pin 1| in the coupling member 51 for entering any one of a number of openings 12 in the coupling member 45. I further provide a spring 45 pressed pin 13 in the coupling member 55 for entering any one of a number of openings 14 in. the coupling member 45. It is impossible for. the coupling member 45- to rotate through any con-.

siderable arc without the pin 1| entering one of 50 the openings 12 and locking the two coupling members or parts 45 and 51 together. In the same manner a rotation of the coupling part 55 -with respect to the coupling part 49 will cause the pair of worm gears 42. The inner end of each shaft15 carries a bevel gear 11 and these bevel gears mesh with a bevel ring gear 18 that is 05 mounted upon a hollow shaft 15. 'I'he'hollow shaft rotates about a bearing sleeve 55 that separates the-shaft from the hollow shaft |5., A pulley 5| ismounted upon the upper end of the shaft 55 and is operatively connected to the motor 70 |1.bybelts5 2..

; A rotation of the motor/will therefore rotate eachpair of wringer rollers 52 in aidirection for conveying material such as sandand foreign metallic particles from the Separator housing, 15-

The rollers in each pair contact with each other and this preventsthe mud and water from pass-" ing between the rollers. The rollers although contacting with each other to prevent water and mud from passing therebetween, will engage with the hard particles in the mud and will pass these from the separator housing or bowl, between the rollers andinto the space between the plates 3| and a circular plate 92 '(see Figure 3). This outer space is-indicated at 83 in Figure 2, and it will be seen that the sand and small particles can pass downwardly through this space by gravity and will drop into the compartment 8 designed to receive this material.

In Figure 3 I show fiuid retainers 39 that are disposed between the plates 3| and the wringer rollers 83. The retainers extend between the housings 48 and 41 and contact with the edges of the plates 3| and with the rollers for preventing any mud from leaking past the plates 3| and the wringer rollers. The rotation of the wringer rollers is such as to tend to cause any mud bearing against the rollers and retainers 39 to be carried inwardly into the bowl.

It will be noted from Figure 2 that the shaft I9 is received in a roller bearing 84 and that this roller bearing is mounted in a housing 85 that in turn is carried by the frame top 3. The construction is such that the housing 85 and the bearing 84 cooperate with the housing 9 and the bearing l3 to hold the pipe II and shaft IS in a vertical position while permitting them to rotate freely. The roller bearing 84 rotatably supports the shaft 19 and this shaft through the bearing sleeve 88 rotatably supports the shaft l5.

I have explained how the mudQsand, and fine particles are delivered to the separator housing after passing through the screen -28 and how the sand and fine particles are separated from the mud by the wring'er rollers and are delivered to the ring-shaped compartment 5. I also provide means for separating the mud according to its specific gravity. In Figures 2 and 3, I show a plurality of outlet pipes 88 arranged near the apron 25 and disposed in the separator housing. The pipes 88 extend through'the conical partition 33 and therefore the mud must pass beyond the lower edge of the partition 33 before it can enter the pipes 88. The lower ends of the pipes 88 depend into the compartment 8 and a valve 81 is placed in each pipe at a point just above the compartment 8 where the valve may be reached for manual operation. A second group of mud.

the center of the separator housing and extend down into the compartment 1. A valve 89 controls the fiow of mud through each pipe 88. A third set of pipes 98 extend from the separator housing into the compartment 8 and a valve 9| is placed in-each of these pipes.

During the rotation of the separator housing, the mud of the heaviest specific gravity will be forced to the outer portion of the housing due to centrifugal force and will find its way into the outermost pipes 98 and will be delivered into the compartment 8. The mud of a lesser specific gravity will flow into the pipes 88 and will be delivered into the. compartment 1 while the mud of the lightest specific gravity will flow into the The particles that are to large to pass through the screen 28 will be conveyed up along the inner surface of the screen by centrifugal force and when a sufllcient quantity of these particles collect, they will pass the rubber apron 21 and enter a space above the cover 28. From here the parti-' cles will move up and over the upper edge of the band 25 and along the top of the cover 32 which carries them over the side walls 3| of the separator housing. The side walls 3| are spaced from the circular wall 92, carried by the frame sides 2. and the large particles will drop by gravity through the space 83 between the walls 3| and 92 and will be received in the compartment '5. A plate 23' is secured to the tops of the I-beams 23 and extends from the housing 24 to preventingthe particles that pass the apron 21 from entirely leaving the machine.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

A description of certain parts of the device has been given, and therefore the operation of the entire device will be briefly set forth. The mud flows to the separator through -a pipe (not shown) to the housing 9. The mud then enters the pipe II and flows through the openings l9 into the conical screen 28. This mud contains sand and pieces of cuttings. The mud is practically atomized as it passes through the rapidly rotating screen 28. Some of the heavier particles in the mud, after it passes through the screen, will fall to the bottom plate 38 of the separator housing. The rest will be thrown outwardly from the screen and will come into contact with the conical partition 33 and be directed downwardly. All of the mud and the particles carried therewith will pass through the recesses 34 in the bottom of the partition 33.

The sand and cuttings now being near the bottom plate 38 will continue to move outwardly along the bottom due to centrifugal force until they reach the wringer rollers 53. This is due to the fact that the rollers are disposed at the apexes of the V-shaped separator bowl walls formed by. the sides 3| and are therefore the furtherest points removed from the bowl axis.

The gearing between the pulley 8| and the rollers 5| is such as to cause the wringer rollers to slowly rotate. The foreign particles'will arrange themselves in layers adjacent to the rollers and will extend from the bottom to the tops of the rollers, due to the centrifugal force. Now since the rollers are rotating and the centrifugal force ispressing the particles against the Vs of the rollers, there is only one thing that can take place and that is the particles will be rolled out and the centrifugal force will then throw the particles clear of the rollers. The rubber covers of the rollers are soft enough to -be compressed by thesolid particles while at the same time the liquid mud will be pushed ahead of the contact line between the rollers. The particles will not adhere to the rubber covers after the particles have moved through the rollers. The rotary drilling mud is a circulating medium used in drilling and is a mud-laden fluid made from pulverized clay having the proper characteristics mixed with water to give it the desired thickness. The mud is never so thick that a pump cannot-pick it up and it therefore acts like a liquid and is prevented from passing between the contacting rollers while the particles are being removed. In this way the solid particles will be separated from the mud without the loss of. any mud. If a heavy mud is desired to .counteract the gas pressure in the well i the housings 48. This plate is for the purpose of while drilling, weight material in a pulverized 18 form is added and has a tendency to'increase the quantity of mud as well as add weight.

As more mud enters the separator bowlor housing it will fill the space beyond the partition 33. The mud will not remain long enough in the centrifugal to be entirely separated from the water. This mud will continue to rise after passing beneath the partition 33, and the centrifugal force will continue its separating action to cause the heavy mud to flow to the outer portion of the separator housing, and to displace the medium mud and to cause it to flow toward the middle of the space between the apron 25 and the wringer assemblies 31. The medium mud in turn will displace the lightest mud, and will cause it to flow adjacent to the outer surface of the apron 25. The mud of these specific densities will find its way into the proper outlet pipes 86, 88 and 90 and will be conveyed to the compartments 8, 1 and 6 respectively. It will be seen that this upward and inward movement of the medium and light muds will permit the heavy mud to flow below the inlets of the pipes 86 and 88 that are designed solely to carry away the lighter muds. In this way automatic and continuous separation of the mud according to different densities is accomplished. The sand and cuttings are thrown out by the rollers 5| into the space 83 and circular wall 92 and this wall will deflect the particles ihto the compartment 5.

The larger particles can not pass through the screen or grating and are therefore forced to the highest point in the conical screen where they will come into contact with the rubber apron 21. This apron will hold them until a sufllcient quantity is gathered to exert a force that will l ft the outer edge of the rubber apron. When this happens the larger particles are practically dry and are thrown over the apron or band and then over the cover or top 32 and through the passageway provided between the members 23. These particles will finally leave the separator and wil strike the deflector wall 92 where they will be dropped into the compartment 5.

Should the mud contain any gas it will be lib-' erated as the mud passes through the openings l9 and the screen 20. The cover 26 makes contact with the metal band 25 and will retain this gas and permit it to pass through the passages into the interior of the pipe l5 where it will be delivered to the gas sample container IS. The cover 26 therefore acts as a seal for preventing the escape of gas and retards the escape of cuttings too large to pass through the screen. Even though a vacuum is drawn, the apron 21 will seal the screen 20 long enough to permit a gas sample to be taken before a suflicient quantity of large particles will exert sufficient force to deflect the rubber apron and allow air to enter. v

If desired, the plate 92 may be lined with rubber sheeting to eliminate the noise caused by (not shown) and the different muds may be 'remixed as desired for further use.

The rollers 5| may be arranged in any select order depending upon the liquid and solids to be separated. For example, if the liquid is light and the particles are small, an even number of rollers could be arranged to form a cylinder to be rotated as a train of gears. This arrangement has anadvantage of forming a seal by the I rollers themselves.

' The separator bowl has drain pipes 69 that are normally closed by a means not shown, during the operation of the machine. The pipe II has a conical upper portion provided with openings 28 through which gas can, escape into the interior of the screen 20. From here the gas will flow into the hollow shaft l5 through the openings 28 and will pass into the gas retainer l5 shown in Figure 7. The term mu is to be construed broad enough to include any fluid material and the terms sand and foreign particles are to be construed broad enough to include solid'orsemi-solid materials.

WhileI have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the type described, a rotatable bowl designed to receive mud, means for rotating the bowl, pairs of wringer rollers forming a part of the wall of the bowl, said rollers having resilient surfaces, means for rotating the rollers in each pair in a direction to catch and remove any foreign particles in the mud that might'be forced against the rollers, said rollers in each pair contacting with each other for preventing fluid mud from passing therebetween, whereby the foreign particles are removed from the mud without the loss of any mud.

2. In a device of the type described, a rotatable bowl for receiving mud, the side walls of said bowl forminga plurality of V-shaped areas whose apexes are furtherest removed from the axis of the bowl, means for rotating the bowl, a pair of wringer rollers disposed at each apex and constituting portions of the side walls of the bowl, said rollers having resilient surfaces, and means for rotating the rollers for removing foreign particles that are forced against the roller surfaces, said rollers preventing the escape of any mud therebetween.

3. In a device of the type described, a rotatable bowl for continuously receiving mud, discharge pipes for the mud placed at different distances from the axis of the bowl and having their entrance openings disposed near the top of the bowl, a partition for directing the mud toward the bowl bottom before reaching the discharge pipes,

'bowl, a partition for directing the mud toward the bowl bottom before reaching the discharge pipes, means for rotating the bowl for causing the heaviest mud to continuously pass out through the outermost pipes and the less dense muds to continuously pass out through the-pipes placed nearer the bowl axis, whereby a continuous separating of the mud according to different densities is eifected 'and a receptacle placed beneath the bowl and being provided with a plurality of concentric compartments, said pipes communicating with the compartments for delivering mud thereto. a

5. In a device 'of the type described, a rotatable bowl for continuously receiving mud-,means for conveying mud to thecenter of the bowl, a conical partition for guiding the mud toward the bottom of the bowl, a partition for directing the mud toward the bowl bottom before reaching the discharge. pipes, the lower edge of the partition having recesses through which the mud can pass. mud outlet pipes placed at different distances from the bowl axis and having their entrance ends disposed near the bowl top and beyond the partition, and means for rotating the bowl for causing the heaviest mud to continually find its way to the outermost pipes and the less heavier muds to continually flow out through the pipes disposed nearer the bowl-axis.

6. In combination, a rotatable bowl, a conical screen placed at the center of the bowl with its widest diameter placed at the bowl top, means for conveying mud into the conical screen, a cover for the screen with a flexible rim, means for rotating the bowl and screen for causing the mud to flow through the screen due to centrifugal force, a conical-shaped partition surrounding the screen and causingall of the mud passing through the screen, to flow toward the bowl bottom, the lower edge of the partition being scalloped for the passage oiZ-inud thereby, a plurality of pipes placed in the bowl at different distances from the bowl axis, the inlet ends of the pipes being disposed near the bowl top and beyond the partition, pairs of wringer rollers forming a part of the bowl wall, said rollers having resilient surfaces, means for rotating the rollers for removing foreign particles from the mud that are forced against the rollers by centrifugal force, and means for receiving foreign particles, too large to pass through the screen, these particles the wringer rollers disposed between the housings I and contacting with each other,-a pair of drive shafts mounted in the upper housing, coupling members rotated by the shafts, coupling members rotatably can'ied by the lower housing, coupling members carried by therollers, and manual- 1y controlled means for moving the coupling members in the rollers into engagement with the coupling members carried by the shafts and lower housing, whereby the rollers will be operatively connected to the shafts.

8. In combination, a cylindrical housing a compartment disposed below the housing and having a plurality of concentric compartments, a separator bowl rotatably mounted in the housing and having a square side wall, pa.irs of wringer rollers mounted at the corners of the square and constituting a part of the wall, said rollers having resilient surfaces, means for conveying mud into the bowl, a conical-shaped screen disposed in the bowl center and receiving the mud,

a cover for the'bowl extending up to the screen, a cover for the screen having a flexible rim for permitting particles too large to pass through the screen, to pass over the cover of the bowl and downinto one of the compartments, means for deflecting all of the mud passing through the screen, downwardly toward the bowl bottom, means for rotating the bowl and screen for causing the mud to flow toward the rollers, means for rotating the rollers for ejecting foreign particles that are forced against the rollers, from the mud while retaining the mud in the bowl, and mud outlet pipes disposed at diflerent radial distances from they bowl axis and extending into the bowl and communicating with the compartments for transferring mud of different specific gravities from the bowl to the compartments.

9. In combination, a rotatable separator bowl designed to receive mud, means-for rotating the bowl, screening means disposed within the bowl for separatingi'foreign particles larger than a predetermined size from the mud, resilient wringer rollers, means for rotating said wringer rollers for separating foreign particles from the mud that passes through the screening means and is forced against the rollers, meansfor causing all of the mud to flow "along the bottom of the bowl toward the rollers, and means for conveying mud from the separator bowl at different distances from the center of the bowl, said mud conveying means having their inlets disposed near the bowl top, whereby the mud will be automatically separated into quantities of different specific densities.

10. In combination, a rotatable separator bowl designed to receive mud, means for rotating the bowl, screening means disposed within the bowl for separating foreign particles largerthan a predetermined size from the mud, resilient wringer rollers, means for rotating said wringer rollers for separating foreign particles from the mud that passes through the screening means and is forced against the rollers, means for causing all of the' mud to flow along the bottom of the bowl toward the rollers, and means for conveying mud from the separator bowl at different distances from the center of the bowl, said mud conveying means having their inlets disposed near the bowl top,

faces-and. arranged around the bowl and constituting liquid retaining means for holding the. liquid in the bowl, means for rotating the rollers in each pair in a direction to catch and remove any solids and semi-solids from the fluid that might be forced against the rollers, wherebythe solids and semi-solids will be removed without the loss of, any liquid.

CLARENCE, C. SEARLE. 

